- Date
- May 15, 2007, 13:15 local (20:15 UTC)
- Place
- Merced, CA
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Initial climb
- Aircraft
- N363AMAircraft Mfg & Dev. CH 2000
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report July 25, 2007
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 20070515009509A
- Case key
- 65824
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Probable cause
The student pilot's inadvertent stall/mush during a simulated power loss after takeoff and the flight instructor's delayed remedial action, which resulted in a hard landing. A contributing factor was the flight instructor's lack of familiarity with the make/model of aircraft.
Sequence of events
NTSB’s coding before 2008: each occurrence and phase of flight, and the causes and factors under it. The codes are defined in NTSB’s coding manual.
Analysis
The flight instructor said the instructional flight was to prepare the student for his stage two check, which was to be followed by his first solo flight. The student had received 41.2 hours of instruction, with 5.4 hours in this make/model aircraft. The flight instructor had planned for a simulated engine failure after takeoff; it was the flight instructor's first practice simulated engine failure after takeoff in this make/model aircraft. He pulled the throttle to idle, but the student held the yoke in the climb attitude as opposed to nosing the airplane down for best glide speed. The flight instructor said that he realized the airspeed was low and the aircraft was in a high rate of descent, but his remedial attempts did not prevent a hard landing. The airplane's firewall was wrinkled, and the empennage and horizontal stabilizer were bent.
Factual narrative
The flight instructor said the instructional flight was to prepare the student for his stage two check, which was to be followed by his first solo flight. The student had received 41.2 hours of instruction, with 5.4 hours in this make/model aircraft. The flight instructor had planned for a simulated engine failure after takeoff; it was the flight instructor's first practice simulated engine failure after takeoff in this make/model aircraft. He pulled the throttle to idle, but the student held the yoke in the climb attitude as opposed to nosing the airplane down for best glide speed. The flight instructor said that he realized the airspeed was low and the aircraft was in a high rate of descent, but his remedial attempts did not prevent a hard landing. The airplane's firewall was wrinkled, and the empennage and horizontal stabilizer were bent.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N363AM
- Reported as
- Aircraft Mfg & Dev. CH 2000
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 20-1057
- Engine
- Lycoming O-235-N2C, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Sierra Academy of Aeronautics
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Departed
- MER · Atwater, CA
- Destination
- MER
- Airport
- MCE · Merced Municipal Airport, runway 30, 5,903 × 150 ft, asphalt
Matched to the registry by N-number and the event date; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.
Flight crew · 2
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Flight instructor
- Age
- 32
- Injuries
- None
- Certificates
- Flight instructor, Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, With waivers/limitations
- Flight hours
- 512 total · 23 in this make and model · 1 in the last 24 hours
- Role
- Student pilot
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Student
- Medical
- Class 2, Without waivers/limitations
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 310° at 9 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 81 °F
- Observed at
- MCE
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.